International praise for Christchurch-made snack bar

When David Dunn received an email that his snack bars had been named as “one of the best” by leading American outdoor magazine Backpacker, he danced around the room.

The Crafty Weka Bar, made in Ferrymead, has been recognised globally as one of the best backpacking foods of 2022.

Dunn and his wife Clare, of  Sumner, are “ecstatic” about the recognition.

“It was a little bit numbing for me, we got ahead of any other snack bar in the whole American market just through that magazine. They could have picked anything,” Dunn said.

“I danced around the office,” he said.

The couple owned a bakery, The Kookery Nook. For 30 years, they honed their craft and developed a passion for food development.

As a respite from bakery life, Dunn spent time on his bicycle where his mates were constantly asking him to craft a bar that would give them sustained energy.

So he did.

The bars are hand-crafted and sustainably packaged, ideal for sports, lunches and snacks-on-the-go.

“The very nature of a startup is that you have to push incredibly hard to be successful to get in front of your competitors,” Dunn said.

That has proved true for Dunn as the business expands offshore as their bars are in demand.

The bars are exported to the United States and Australia.

“You’ve got to have the people that you’re feeding it to tell you you’ve got a great product, when you’ve got that, that’s when you know you’ve got something,” Dunn said.

And Backpacker magazine has done just that.

“Every win no matter how big or small is a win for me,” Dunn said.